Behavioral Thermoregulation by Mothers Protects Offspring from Global Warming but at a Cost

Beltrán, Iván; Perry, Constant; Degottex, Faustine; Whiting, Martin J.

doi:10.1086/715976

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The most important factors explaining the current distribution of S. crocodilurus were related to temperature (contribution rate 34.2%) and precipitation (contribution rate 65.7%). This is not surprising given their importance to key physiological processes in reptiles [ 32 , 79 , 80 ]. Temperature increases associated with global warming may impact their ability to thermoregulate and maintain their preferred body temperature [ 81 , 82 , 83 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Dispersal Ability Jointly Affects the Future Distribution of Crocodile Lizards

Zhang

Alvarez

Whiting

et al. 2022

Animals

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Crocodile lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) are an endangered, ‘living fossil’ reptile from a monophyletic family and therefore, a high priority for conservation. We constructed climatic models to evaluate the potential impact of climate change on the distribution of crocodile lizards for the period 2000 to 2100 and determined the key environmental factors that affect the dispersal of this endangered species. For the construction of climatic models, we used 985 presence-only data points and 6 predictor variables which showed excellent performance (AUC = 0.974). The three top-ranked factors predicting crocodile lizard distribution were precipitation of the wettest month (bio13, 37.1%), precipitation of the coldest quarter (bio19, 17.9%), and temperature seasonality (bio4, 14.3%). Crocodile lizards were, just as they are now, widely distributed in the north of Guangdong Province in China and Quảng Ninh Province in Vietnam at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Since the LGM, there has been an increase in suitable habitats, particularly in east-central Guangxi Province, China. Under future global warming scenarios, the potential habitat for crocodile lizards is expected to decrease significantly in the next 100 years. Under the most optimistic scenario, only 7.35% to 6.54% of suitable habitat will remain, and under the worst climatic scenario, only 8.34% to 0.86% of suitable habitat will remain. Models for no dispersal and limited dispersal showed that all crocodile lizards would lose habitat as temperatures increase. Our work contributes to an increased understanding of the current and future spatial distribution of the species, supporting practical management and conservation plans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Dispersal Ability Jointly Affects the Future Distribution of Crocodile Lizards

Zhang

Alvarez

Whiting

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…Of particular concern is the effect that climate change will have on reproductive success because warmer temperatures can alter developmental rates, developmental success, and offspring phenotypes, leading to reduced offspring production and survival (Hawkes et al., 2014 ). Some oviparous species, including sea turtles, are particularly vulnerable to increasing developmental temperatures because, unlike viviparous species, they are unable to physiologically mitigate elevated temperatures by controlling their own internal temperature (Beltrán et al., 2021 ). Although some oviparous species behaviorally modify the incubation environment (Balshine, 2012 ), sea turtles provide no parental care, and thus, ambient conditions directly determine the incubation environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating the effects of climate change on the nests of sea turtles with artificial irrigation

Gatto

Williamson

Reina

2023

Conservation Biology

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For sea turtles, like many oviparous species, increasing temperatures during development threaten to increase embryonic mortality, alter offspring quality, and potentially create suboptimal primary sex ratios. Various methods are being implemented to mitigate the effects of climate change on reproductive success, but these methods, such as breeding programs, translocations, and shading, are often invasive and expensive. Irrigation is an alternative strategy for cooling nests that, depending on location, can be implemented relatively quickly and cheaply. However, multiple factors, including ambient conditions, nest substrate, and species characteristics, can influence irrigation success. Additionally, irrigation can vary in duration, frequency, and the volume of water applied to nests, which influences the cooling achieved and embryonic survival. Thus, it is critical to understand how to maximize cooling and manage risks before implementing irrigation as a nest‐cooling strategy. We reviewed the literature on nest irrigation to examine whether artificial irrigation is feasible as a population management tool. Key factors that affected cooling were the volume of water applied and the frequency of applications. Embryonic responses varied with species, ambient conditions, and the timing of irrigation during development. Nest inundation was the key risk to a successful irrigation regime. Future irrigation regimes must identify clear targets, either primary or adult sex ratios, that maximize population viability. Monitoring population responses and adjusting the irrigation regime in response to population characteristics will be critical. Most studies reported on the manipulation of only one or two variables, further research is required to understand how altering multiple factors in an irrigation regime influences the cooling achieved and embryonic responses.

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Behavioral Thermoregulation by Mothers Protects Offspring from Global Warming but at a Cost

Cited by 2 publications

References 92 publications

Climate Change and Dispersal Ability Jointly Affects the Future Distribution of Crocodile Lizards

Climate Change and Dispersal Ability Jointly Affects the Future Distribution of Crocodile Lizards

Mitigating the effects of climate change on the nests of sea turtles with artificial irrigation

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